Clamshell bucket



May26, 1942.- E. l.. HARRINGTON CLAMSHELL BUCKET INVENTOR May 26, 1942-E. L. HARRINGTON 2,284,390.

GLAMSHBLL BUCKET Filed Nov. 13, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet I 5:9 Figl- 2m g' "4S ."NT OFFICE CLAMSHELL BUCKET Edward L. Harrington, Pittsburgh, Pa.,assigner to Blaw-Knox Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of NewJersey Application NevemberlS, 1941, Serial No. 418,937

Claims. (Cl. 371-486) This invention relates to a clam shell bucket,viously. In a preferred embodiment, the invenand, in particular,v to aclean-up bucket. tion comprises a pair of hinge frames pivoted to a Acleanup bucket is one used to remove coal, head and depending therefrom,having scoops ore or other material from a ship or barge after securedto the lower portions thereof. A sheave the greater part of the cargohas been removed 5 bloCk betWeen the hinge frames has toggle links byanother type of grab, or other means. It is pivoted thereto and to theframes effective to not required to dig downward into a deep pile, Openthe bucket when suspended by a sheave but to scrape together materialspread out over in Said bloek- I DroVide a pail' 0f Closing sheaves alarge area of the snip bottom or barge deck. generally in the lowerportion 0f each frame. Such buckets open out to secure wide spread, l0guide sheaves iounaled in Said head and a and require only suiiicientclosing power to cross-over sheave journaled in oneof the hinge enablethem to scrape together the material frames. A closing line has a bightaround the between their widely spread jaws or lips, and cross-oversheave and leads extending around then to close the lips to preventspilling. the closing sheaves in the frame in which the Such buckets areoperated by means of cables Cross-over SheaVe is 'journaleob thencearound reeved over sheaves within the bucket and puuedV the closingsheaves of the other frame and thence in or paid out by means of hoistsin the crane or around the guide sheaVeS and upwardly through bridge bywhich the buckets are operated. The the'head.' forces necessary to closeVthe bucket must be sup- FOI' a Complete understanding of the invenpliedby the cables. The amount of the force tion and the novel features andadvantages required to Close a Cleanup buoket depends upon thereof, thefollowing detailed description and the spread and the Weight of thebucket to a eXPlanation are given, referring to the aCeOIngreater extentthan upon the amount of material panying CllaWings illustrating theaforementioned it gathers up during the closing operation. It Preferredembodiment- In the draWngSI is desirable to keep the amount of cablethat Figure l iS a Side eleVation showing a Cleanmust be Wound up on thehoisting drum to close up buoket according to my inVentOn in Closed thebucket on a level deck, as small as practicaposition;

ble in order to expedite the closing and open- Figure 2 is a SimilarVieW showing the bucket ing operations; but on the other hand, itisnecesin Wide open Position;

sary to have enough cable pulled to exert the so Figure 31S a partialend elevation; and

necessary closing force to insure closure with a Figure i is a partialtransverse section takeny fu11 load before the bucket is lifted. alongthe plane 0f line IV-IV of Figure 1.

Cleanup buckets hitherto known have been Referring 110W in detail t0 thedrawings, .a

characterized by complexity of the reeving of` bucket according to myinvention is indicated the closing line within the bucket, by thenecesgenerally at. i0 a11d comprises a Pair 0f hinge. sity of a numberof moving parts to preserve reaframes il and i2 having s600135 i3 andlil sesonable straghtness of lines from sheave to cured to the lowerends thereof respectively, the sheave, and in the case of large bucketsby the frames being piVoted 0n a head l5. The hinge necessity of pullinga, greater 1ength of une in frames Il and l2 are substantially identicaland the closing operation than is required to gather 40 ae of iabrieatedmetal plate C0nStruCti0n, each up a full load of materiai. The oniefobjects of eemprisingeuter Webs 16 and l1. and inner webs the presentinvention are to avoid this complex- I3 and I9 formed by welding platesof suitable,

ity by simplifying the reeving, and to lessen the Size and Shape t0Conneoting guSSets 23, 2|, anlength 0f line it is necessary to pull, toclose gles or other structural members 22 and internal the bucket undernormal working vconditions of braces 23 (see Figures 3 and 4). The innerand operation, thereby making it possible to handle Outer Webs arebrought together adjacent their more loads of material per hour with agiven upper ends proViding built-up bearing portions Crane and hoistSpeed, The Smpucation of Ita and Ila. The scoops I3 and I4 are `likewisereeving also makes possible some saving of weight 0f fabioated metalplate Construction and are in the bucket structure, `and therefore agreater Secured to the lOWer ends VOf the hinge frames proportion of payload to total weight of loaded bv any Suitable means -sueh as rivets(not bucket of a given maximum spread. shown).

I have inventedanovel form of clean-up bucket The head l5 is Simply abox-like structure which largely overcomes the aforementioneddiflikewise of fabrieated, metal-Plate Construction ncultes of bucketsof this type as known preincluding cross channels 27 and Connecting ihead I5.

A sheave block 33 is disposed `between the frames II and I2. A sheavewheel is journaledY in the block 33 and is enclosed within a` housinsureproper coordinationV of said frames with ing 34. Toggle links 35 arepivoted to the lower end of the sheave block 33 by. shafts 36. The

links 35 also have meshing gear segments 31' thereon to insure propercoordination with each other and the hinge frames. At their upper ends,the links are provided with hubs 38.through. which extend transverseshafts 39 supported in suitableV bearings secured to the inner webs I 8`and I9 of the hinge frames. An opening cable 40 extends around theVsheave journaled inv the block 33, entering and leaving bysuitableholesI 4.I in the housing. 34 andl extending upwardly through the head I tothe trolleycf an overhead crane. y

Each of the hinge frames II- and I2has a paircfclosing sheaves 42 and 43journaledtherel in. These sheavesare journaled on pins 44 carried. ontheinner webs.' I8 and [I9 and bearing by the links and the openingcable 40 must be slacked suiciently, as above stated, to permit this;otherwise, the bucket will be bodily lifted before it has fully closedvand may thus pick up only a part load or no load at all.

With vsufiicient slack in the opening cable 4D, the exposed edges of thescoops I3 and I4 scrape across the surface of thefloor or deck on whichlies the material to be'handled. When the scoops are finally broughttogether as shown in Figure 1, they will have gathered a load ofmaterial and the bucket is' then ready to be hoisted and dumped. Thebucket is hoisted by taking in the opening and closing cablessimultaneously. This distributes the load among the several cables andinsures that the parts of the bucket remain in the position shown inFigure 1 until it is desired to dump the load. When the bucket has beenmoved to the desired point as' by operation of the crane and trolley, itmay be dumped by payingout the closing cable while securing the openingcable.A Considering Figure 1 it will be apparent that if the entireweight of the bucket brackets. 44a adjacent the` scoops I3 and I4. 1

Eachsheave has a cable guard 45 extending partway. aroundit with a.cable openingA 46 therein. .The frame I2 ha'stwospaced channelsIVI-extending thereacross supporting a shaft 48k on whichV is .journaledacross-over sheave49. As clearly shownin the drawings, this,sheave'vlies in a plane generally parallel tothe axes of the shaftA 30.and has a cable guard 50 extending therearound with guides 5I forleading cable toand from the scoreA of the sheave. Y'

Guide sheaves 52- anal-,53y are jour-naled onV the head I5, the latterbeing provided with spaced; dependingV plates 54 and-'55 formingbearingl bracketsforthe sheaves respectively.` Y

A closing cable hasa bightex-tending around the sheave 49 and leadsextending therefrom around the sheaves 42 andJlS,Y jcurnaled'in thehinge framerl 2. The leads extend thence aroundV the correspondingsheavesof-the hinge frame II,

upwardly around the sheaves 52;and;53, and up Y through the head I5tothe crane trolleyQj-Antif friction rollers 51 and 58disposedAatY-right angles-are'journaled in the head' I 5to preventchafing of thev leads ofthe opening cable 40yand the closing cable56.1'Y f e .Having completely'desvcribed the structureof apreferredembodiment ofthe invention, it nowremains tofexplain` the operationthereof. Fig--n ure2 illustrates the partsin the positions Vthey occupyVat the start ofia loading `and'liftingjoperation, the exposed edges ofthe scoops resting on.a llayer of materialtobe'handled, lying, for'example, in-the .bottom of'a shipshold. With` the parts in thisposition, the-opening cable `4II is. slightly slacked andJ the closingoperation is eiected by taking inv one or b'oththe leads of theclosingcable 55. It will be apparent from" a consideration of-Figure 2 that thetakingin"r Y the bucket to be fullyclosed-frorn its extreme open e andload are carried on the cable 4D, as will be the case when the closingcable is paid out, this whole weight will be effective to cause allparts of the bucket to descend relative tothe sheave` 1` sitioned.centrally of. the head I5.4 For cooperation with the bumper 5S, theblocky 33is provided with a padv 6B. When the bucket has been fullyopened, as above described, and the load-dumped, Y

it maybe returned to the loading point andloweredbodily for a furtherfilling and lifting operation.V

.It will. be apparent that, by virtuevof the locationV and4 positioningof the closing sheavesand the reeving of the closing cable, ample forcemay l be exerted on the'hinge frames to close the buck- 4'5l et scoopsunder practically any operation condiclosev to the scoops, -throughasubstantial leverarm from the pivotal axes of the hinge frames.

Inaddition, the construction of my clean-up bucket .is relatively simpleand involves but a small number of moving parts 'so that the initial costf and upkeep- `thereof are correspondingly lower than those ofbucketsgof similar type known-heretofore. e

The arrangementof` the closing sheaves and the reeving of the closingcable, furthermore, permit u position by taking in a length of theclosing cable which' is smaller than that which must'be taken in toclose bucketsof previousl constructions. Since 'theV operating time of abucket is generally proportional to Vthe amount-of-closing linewhich'has to be taken into effect a closing thereof, my

inventionv represents an improvement overpriol Y practice in thisrespect. The relationship be' tween the cross-over sheave and theclosing sheaves Ajournaled in the same hingel frame is xed f so thatnospecial provisions are necessary to hold 'y 7s furthermore', is readilyaccessible in all parts for"` the sheavesVA in'cooperative relation; Thearf' rangement ofthe sheaves andthe reeving of the cables is such astoavoicl interference` With the othermoving partssuch as thes lre'aveVblock 33A and toggle linksr 35', The entire construction,

inspection and repair. The provision of the guide sheaves 52 and 53positions the outgoing leads of the closing cable relative to the leadsof the opening cable so that they may readily be operated by aconventional crane trolley.

Although I have illustrated and described but a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, it will be recognized that changes in the constructionand arrangement ofthe parts may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a clamshell bucket of the wide-opening type comprising a pair offrames hinged to an upper head structure, cooperating opposed scoops atthe lower extremities of said frames and cableoperated mechanism forspreading the scoops apart and for drawing them together, said mechanismincluding two sheaves pivoted to said head structure in differentplanes, parallel with the plane in which said frames swing duringopening of the scoops, two sheaves pivoted to one of the aforesaidframes, in the same planes as the two aforesaid sheaves, but close tothe scoop, two sheaves pivoted to the other of said frames, in the sameplanes as the aforementioned sheaves, and a seventh sheave pivoted inthe upper part of said other frame in a plane at right angles to theplane in which said frames swing, and a cable reeved partially aroundall seven of the sheaves, both ends thereof passing upward through thebucket head.

2. A clamshell bucket comprising a head, a pair of hinge frames pivotedon said head, cooperating scoops secured to the lower ends of saidframes, respectively, a pair of closing sheaves journaled in the lowerportion of each hinge frame, a crossover sheave journaled in one hingeframe above the closing sheaves thereof and a closing cable having abight around said cross-over sheave and leads extending therefrom aroundalined pairs of closing sheaves in the two hinge frames.

3. A clamshell bucket comprising a head, a pair of hinge frames pivotedon said head and depending therefrom, cooperating scoops secured to thelower ends of said frames, respectively, a pair of closing sheavesjournaled in the lower portion of each hinge frame, guide sheavesjournaled in said head, a cross-over sheave journaled in one hinge frameabove the closing sheaves thereof and a closing cable having a bightaround said crossover sheave and leads extending therefrom aroundalinedpairs of closing sheaves in the two hinge frames and upwardlyaround said guide.

sheaves and through said head.

4. A clamshell bucket as defined by claim 2 characterized by saidclosing sheaves being journaled on axles substantially parallel to thepivotal axes of the hinge frames and said cross-over sheave lying in aplane substantially parallel to said axes.

5. A clamshell bucket comprising a head, a pair of frames pivoted tosaid head, opposed cooperating scoops secured to the lower ends of saidframes, means coordinating the movement of the frames with respect tothe head to insure alinement of the scoops, one in opposition to theother, a pair of sheaves pivoted in the lower portion of each frameabove said scoops, the corresponding sheaves in the two frames being inalinement, a cross-over sheave pivoted in one of said frames nearer tothe head than the aforementioned sheaves, two sheaves pivotallysupported from the head in alinement with the pair of sheaves in theother frame, a closing cable reeved part way around all seven sheavesmentioned, both ends whereof extend upward throughv the head, and meansfor spreading said scoops. when tension in said closing cable isrelaxed.

EDWARD L. HARRDIGTON.

